Friday, March 13, 1998
Breaking Out
LEISURE
By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Contributor
Just a few years ago, Palm Springs was the ultimate Spring Break
location, and college students from everywhere went there to party.
But after the passing of strict regulations, such as the banning of
the G-string, many students are left finding another place to
go.
"They’ve really cracked down now," said Jory Chavez, a
third-year English student, referring to Palm Springs. "There are
too many old people."
"But," he joked, "they have a good shuffleboard contest. And
bingo."
Spring break has traditionally been the time to relax in the sun
on beaches like South Padre Island in Texas, Cancun in Mexico and
Panama City Beach in Florida. So where do students at UCLA go for
spring break?
Home of Cancun, Matzatlan, San Felipe, Rosarito … Everyone who
lives on campus has received those shiny flyers that advertise the
adventures of Rosarito Beach.
Elias Encino, a first-year film student, is helping organize a
spring break trip there for friends. They intend to drive down to
Rosarito for the week because there, said Encino, "You have the
beach and good Mexican food, and everyone’s there for one purpose:
to party their asses off."
But, according to Mike Mirhadi, a third-year microbiology
student, it is important to prepare well ahead of time. Last spring
break, Mirhadi and four friends drove down to Rosarito, arrived
after lunch, attempted to check into a hotel – and found out all
the hotels had restricted access.
"You had to have these wristbands to get into the hotel – any
hotel – and we didn’t know this at all. I had to lie and say that
my friends and I were surfing earlier and that we took off our
wristbands and lost them. And I tried to act like a surfer and say
‘dude’ and ‘man’ and all that," Mirhadi said. Six hours later, a
hotel finally sold Mirhadi and friends "new" wristbands for $20
each.
Things only got worse for the group when one of Mirhadi’s
friends nearly got arrested for attempting to smuggle beer into the
hotel – "the cop even pulled out his handcuffs" – and Mirhadi ended
the trip with another complaint: "Worst of all, you have to pay $30
to go to any club – $30 for an overcrowded dancing area, cheap beer
and lots of decadence."
"It was an interesting experience, but not something I want to
repeat."
Anne Marie Wear, a second-year theater student, has fonder
memories of Mexico. Wear went camping with friends on the sands of
San Felipe, where there are numerous watersport activities. An
aspect of the San Felipe beach that stands out, however, is its
unique tidal change.
"You can walk on the beach for miles when there’s a low tide,"
Wear mused. "We would find sand dollars bigger than our hands."
Lodging price in Rosarito: about $75 for a hotel.
People who favor colder weather will find it more worthwhile to
participate in some of America’s favorite pastimes: skiing and
snowboarding. Tina Bishop, a first-year undeclared student, will be
spending her spring break skiing at Mammoth.
"It has the best skiing around. You can’t find double-black
diamonds anywhere else," she said.
If spring break is so famous for being a fun-in-the-sun type of
vacation, why did Bishop choose snow over sun?
"Because building snowmen is better than building sand castles,"
she laughed.
Lodging: Bishop is paying $250 for a condo with other people for
the week.
San Francisco is a city of cafes, culture and character. Many
attractions make it a unique visiting place, such as Japantown,
Chinatown, Little Italy, Fisherman’s Wharf and more.
"There’s culture there – it’s more European than L.A.," said
Rachel Factor, a third-year communication studies student.
"People are more laid back up there," added Yinlan Zhang, a
third-year geography student.
Both recalled experiences that made San Francisco memorable to
them.
"I remember going to Cafe Claude, this French cafe that was in
an alley, where there was a lot of jazz," said Zhang. "After they
closed, we were still there, and we hung out with the band, and the
bartender gave us some free drinks. We just sat there and chatted
until 3 or 4 in the morning."
Factor appreciates the views people can get of the city and bay
when they find the right spot, the many jazz clubs, and the good
food. There are also many areas around San Francisco that are
enjoyable, such as Napa Valley, Sausalito and Santa Cruz.
"San Francisco’s just a neat place," she added. "I feel like
going there now."
Lodging price: $25-$26 for a hostel.
For those who don’t want to spend their spring break outdoors,
the bright lights of Las Vegas and other Nevada cities beckon.
"It’s Sin City, man," said Keith Tam, a third-year business
economics student who is going to Las Vegas this Spring Break with
Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service-oriented fraternity. For the first
time ever, Tam will actually be able to gamble.
"I never had the chance to pull an actual slot machine," he
said, "and besides, my luck has been good recently."
Lodging price: $45-$125 for a hotel.
And then there are the beaches of California. Jory Chavez
traveled to Santa Barbara with friends last year and did what many
students set out to do during spring break: he got drunk. Chavez
recalls consuming a large amount of alcohol, sleeping for about 10
hours and throwing up.
His friend finished his particular version of the story: "Four
of us had to pick him up, drag him to the bathroom, strip him down
and throw cold water all over him."
There were other attractions besides the drinking, however, such
as bike racing.
"There were these bikes there with four wheels that you could
rent from the beach and we were just having fun."
Lodging price: the cheapest hotel on the Net costs $95.
Despite some people’s dreams of the wild spring break that
B-movies are made of, spring break does not have to be a party
scene. For many people, it’s just a good time to go home and relax
after a demanding winter quarter.
"I’m going home to sleep, relax and bond with all my old
friends. I’m a little homesick; I don’t feel like going away for
spring break," said Veronica Martinez, a first-year undeclared
student. "I want to watch movies, get drunk and lay by the
pool."
Spring break could be either a full week of partying for
memories that last a lifetime or simply a time to relax and visit
old friends. Arthur Lee, a fourth-year psychobiology student,
fondly recalled his trip to Disneyland.
"I got stuck on the ‘It’s A Small World’ ride and hung out with
the Dutch people."
On a more serious note, he remembered one enjoyable spring break
he had when he and his friends drove up Highway 1. "Every time we
reached a beach, we stopped the car and ran out, touched sand, and
got into a huge sandball fight. Then we ran back in the car and
drove on to the next beach."
The important thing to most people is just spending time with
friends. "It’s just fun to soak up some warm sun and talk with good
friends," said Wear.
And if there’s really nothing else to do, there’s always MTV’s
spring break special.